A shiny new toy in social media

Most of my friends are on Facebook. I have met a lot of new friends on Twitter. I’m finding some of my friends on Pinterest and Google+ lately. But with so many new shiny social media toys and commerce platforms, I wonder where we will be next.

I’m keeping my eye out on Fancy. It’s part social sharing, part e-commerce. So, it’s a win-win for users and businesses.

What is Fancy? New York based, Fancy, launched their social commerce platform in March 2012. Fancy encourages users to “fancy” products then file into a digital wish list of sorts. The difference between Fancy and Pinterest is that you can actually buy the products on Fancy (without leaving the website). Fancy founder, Joe Einhorn casts the platform as “Groupon in reverse.” Instead of dangling discounts to lure customers, merchants can zero in on items that have already attracted a following and create custom deals to convert fans into buyers.

What is Fancy’s value in our current social space? For users, Fancy enables you to find the things you like through other users (a trusted source), rather than big stores. For retailers and brands, Fancy can be more proactive in gaining customer interest by providing custom deals directly to the user, and potentially drive more sales.

Who’s on Fancy? Aside from the list of impressive supporters Kanye, Jack Dorsey (Twitter, Square), Chris Hughes (Facebook), Jim Pallotta, and LeRoy Kim (partner at Allen & Co.), there are 100,000 to 200,000 unique visitors each day. According to TechCrunch, Fancy’s 250,000 registered users fancy’d over 1 million products in one week from the web, mobile and tablet combined, and 150,000 of those were fancy’d in one day. And the difference maker? Users are able also to purchase what they see without leaving the website